My truck hit 200K this week and the timing belt was due to be replaced. Rang the local mechanic and was told $200.00 plus $100 for the belt, I looked at the cover and figured it couldn't be that much work.

I decided to remove the cover just to have a look, it didn't look like rocket science so I decided to do it myself. Even without knowing what I was doing (I have replaced belts before many years ago but not on this specific engine) I got the job done in 45 minutes so how they figure 2 plus hours for a workshop to do this is beyond me.

Anyway I decided half way through to take some pics and share them up here in case you want to do this yourself, it is dead set as easy a job as it comes and you only need minimum tools to get it done.

Be warned though if you stuff it up (how is beyond me) you will rapidly bend a valve and stuff your engine so be warned.

1) Remove the A/C belt by loosening the 12mm nut on the idler pulley and undoing the tensioner bolt.

2) Remove the three 12mm bolts from the power steering reservoir, do not undo the lines you only need to pull it forward so the timing belt cover will come off.

3) Remove the 3 10mm bolts from the bottom side of the timing belt cover and the three clips from the top of the cover and remove the timing belt cover



4) Turn the engine by hand using a bar and socket on the crankshaft nut, do not turn the engine by the camshaft nut unless you have the injectors removed for some other reason as you may stretch the belt. As you are replacing it this is not a problem but it is just bad practice and if the belt happens to break while doing this you risk further damage. You need to align the marks on the camshaft pulley with the BDC mark and the pulley in front of the injector pump with its BDC mark




Technically you dont need to do this as you are just replacing the belt, as long as you don't move any of the pulleys after you remove and replace the belt it will work fine, however using the marks allows you to verify that nothing has moved.

5) Now you need to remove the old belt, unfortunately it is held under tension by the tensioner and is very difficult to get off. There does not appear to be any way to push the tensioner back without putting a lever on the pulley near the injector pump and levering the idler pulley back, this runs the risk of damaging either the pulley or the gear and causing you major grief. You can remove the belt by using a screwdriver to lever it of the camshaft pulley (without marking the pulley) or simply cutting the old belt.



6) Under the idler pulley you will find the tensioner held on by two 10mm bolts, remove these bolts and the tensioner. Check the idler pulley is not marked and turns smoothly and can float side to side (to tension the belt), if in doubt replace the pulley by using a good quality 8mm Allen key on the idler bracket.

7) Check for any oil in the tensioner where the shaft protrudes from the body. Hold the tensioner with he pushrod upright on a wooden beam and try to push the shaft back into the body by pushing up on the tensioner body as hard as you can. If you are able to move the rod at all replace the tensioner.

Measure the distance the tensioner shaft extends from the body, if not between 9.4-10mm replace the tensioner



9) assuming the tensioner is good you need to compress and lock it so that you can reinstall it without the belt tension interfering with it. Place the tensioner in a vice (A press is ideal but a vice will do) and line up the hole in the tensioner shaft with the holes in the tensioner body.



10) Close the vice until the hole in the shaft and the holes in the body are lined up and insert an allen key through the body and shaft to lock the shaft in the compressed position.





11) Remove the new timing belt from the packet (clean hands and engine parts are essential here as is a good quality timing belt) and install it on the injector pump pulley first, then the camshaft pulley under hand tension. Continue installing the belt around the idler pulley. When on make sure the belt is straight and on each pulley by the same amount. Push the idler pulley in and out a few times to make sure it tensions the loose side of the belt.

12) Because the tensioner is compressed you will be able to fit it back onto the block without the belt being tensioned. Tighten the bolts firmly and use a pair of pliers to remove the allen key keeping the tensioner shaft retracted. The timing belt should now be under tension on both sides of the pulleys.





13) Turn the engine by hand using the crankshaft bolt and make sure there are no problem with valves hitting (hence the slow turn to minimise damage if it is wrong) and check the belt is running true.

14) Replace the cover, 3 bolts and clips, the power steering reservoir and the A/C belt. When tensioning the belt it is easy to overtighten it, make sure the longest part of the belt has around one inch of movement in it when tight or you could put too much pressure on the pump and idler bearings.

The job is now done and hopefully you have saved yourself a couple of hundred dollars, I believe the belt is easier to replace then the 1HD belt with the spring tensioner.

I hope you find this guide a fair representation of how to do the belt, if you see any mistakes I am happy to make any changes.

Barry

Great write up, I'll even add this one to the FAQ

.

If you stuff it up you won't bend a valve on a diesel, more than likely you'll break the cam caps as the valves operate vertically unlike a petrol engine where the operate at an angle to the piston.

It is best to line up the marks before removing the belt as the cam may rotate, also if you line up on the BDC marks the pistons are away from the valves.

When pressing the tensioner back in, it should be done vertically.
Doing it in a vice can cause air bubbles inside the tensioner.

Cheers Barry , good guide that , just finished changing mine at 200 000, beats paying some thief charging big bucks n leaving crap all over the beloved cruiser ,only took about 45 mins , out of curiosity what size is the crankshaft nut , popped the cover and timing marks were about 5mm off pulley marks so away we went without having to turn ,but will have to get correct size when doing valve clearances.
Once again cheers Andy

Happy it was of use to someone, hope you took Hamo and Dogoff's suggestions that I was unaware of, it's an amazingly simple job isnt it.

I couldn't believe my luck when I pulled my cover off, it just by chance was already lined up so I didn't have to move it. I just got a 3/4 socket set cause I want to check the crank nut isn't loose like that other guys. If I do it next weekend I will let you know what size it is.

Barry

I just replaced my timing belt and tensioner this arvo. The 80 has just rolled over 295,000k's and the t/belt light had not come on yet, but i was thinking it would around 300,000k's. I was getting paranoid about it as the belt let go on my sisters car last month resulting in pistons kissing valves and a rooted engine that was not feasible for them to fix. It was a Datto though!

I took my time doing this as it was my first t/belt change on a cruiser. I'm glad to say it was a piece of cake!

New Toyota timing belt was $78 and the hydraulic tensioner was $119. A couple of hours of my time tinkering sure beats paying someone else to do it.

I did think it was wierd that the Toyota part number had changed from 13568-17020, to 13568-17021. No biggie anyway, as they are exactly the same belt.



Andy, i used a 1 1/4" socket on the crank nut.

Thanks for the writeup M80....

Just to add to all this changing belts, I've done mine twice 200 & 300ks
I was told by the guy it was an easy job about $750 took me about 1hr, mine was also a 1HD-FT 24 valve loaded up the tensioner in a vice and used a small allen key !!


Injectors next, anybody done them lately, what do they cost ??

Did mine on the weekends as well...Cant go wrong if you line them up with BDC before you start and make sure its still at BDC when you put the belt on. One of the easiest belts to do! Now if only the tappet clearances were this easy!

I went a bit overboard and replaced everything i could... Prices listed below for all genuine parts

Belt - $57
Idler - $78
Idler Shaft - $22
Tensioner - $100

I am about to do mine on a 1HD-T. I have replaced it twice before however only the last time I did it myself at 189,000km. this time I will replace the idler and tensioner etc as she is at 276,000kms now and it probably wouldn't hurt...

My Timing belt light comes on every 87,000kms?